5-Course Italian menu

I don’t normally get excited about salads, cakes yes, pasta yes, salad no. However, this salad is different using some of my favorite ingredients creamy avocado, peppery rocket, salty Parmesan cheese and Parma ham in a sweet balsamic dressing this is pure heaven. For a long long time salad for me was lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes all chopped up in a bowl with no dressing and that was pretty much how I liked it. Sometimes I’d have a bit of spring onion or sliced radish but that was as adventurous as I’d get.

How to make it

STEP 1

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the water and the next 5 ingredients (water through tomatoes), and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

STEP 2

Place 2 cups soup in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Pour the pureed soup into a bowl. Repeat procedure with 2 cups soup. Return all pureed soup to pan. Stir in the vinegar, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Spoon 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 6 bowls; sprinkle each serving with 1 tablespoon cheese.

How to make it

STEP 1

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onions and peppers and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and browned in spots, about 8 minutes. Add vinegar and sugar. Remove from heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

STEP 2

Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and arrange the coals on one side of the charcoal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Alternatively, set half the burners on a gas grill to the highest heat setting, cover, and preheat for 10 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate.

STEP 4

Place tray on hot side of grill and cook until simmering, about 4 minutes. Slide to cooler side of grill. Cover grill with vents over the sausages. Cook with all vents open until sausages register 140° to 145°F on an instant read thermometer, about 20 minutes, turning once in the middle.

STEP 5

Remove lid. Using tongs, remove sausages from peppers and place directly on cooking grates over hot side of grill. Cook, turning occasionally, until well browned and crisp, about 3 minutes total. Return to peppers. Toast buns over hot side of grill if desired. Serve sausages with buns and sweet and sour peppers.

Ingredients

How to make it

STEP 1

Using an electric hand mixer, beat egg yolks and sugar together in a large bowl until pale and creamy. Gently fold in mascarpone and liqueur. Wash and dry beaters. Whip cream to firm peaks. Fold into mascarpone mixture.

STEP 2

STEP 3

Combine coffee and warm water in a shallow dish, stirring until coffee dissolves. Using half the biscuits, dip biscuits 1 at a time in coffee, turning to coat. Place, in a single layer, over the base of a 6cm-deep, 18cm x 28cm (base) baking dish.

STEP 4

Spread half the mascarpone mixture over biscuits to cover. Repeat layers with remaining biscuits, coffee and mascarpone mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours. Dust top with cocoa powder and serve.